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Any experiences and suggestions about travertine floors would be appreciated, especially from those who already have/had them in their homes.
My wife and I have made a change to the house we're building. We've added about 1400 square feet of travertine floor tiles to the house. It adds up to a little less than half the total square footage. It'll be in areas like the kitchen, ktichen nook, dining room, halls, baths, showers, and part of the living room. We were able to pick some up at a very good price, so we couldn't let it pass.
I do know that it's a natural product. That's what we like about it. It has color variation between the tiles.
As travertine, it also has those little filled voids in it. We think it adds character.
We also know that it can absorb stains. As such, we're aware that we need to keep it sealed.
So, that's what we know about travertine. Is there anything else we should know? What about your experience with logevity/wear with the product or the ability to keep it clean? Also, has it been easy to care for or has it been a PITA?
Any input on the durability, liveability, wearability, and PITA-ability would be appreciated. Thanks.
Have you already installed them? Are they all the same size or are they the chiseled edge stone (they come in 4 different sizes and you use all of them to make a pattern)
They are not all the same size and we haven't installed them yet.
They have a chiseled edge and get installed in a pattern. The pattern repeats about every three feet.
Then, there is the stuff that goes into the showers and on the tub. Those are all 20" tiles with a wire cut (no chilseled edge). They're all the same size.
How much did you pay per sf if you don't mind me asking. We've installed them in 2 homes and they look great. You definitely want to buy a very good sealer. We spent approx. $160 for 1 gallon of sealer, and it still didn't do the best of jobs, so you should ask around your local tile stores. I think they recommend sealing it once a year, but it also depends on the traffic. Depending on the age of your concrete, you'll probably want to put down a decent crack suppressant before installing the stone. Also, make sure you keep extra tiles incase anything cracks in the future.
I don't mind. The multi-sized travertine with the beveled edges and 3' or 4' square pattern I described for the floor cost $3.59/sq ft. I then hired an installer to do the job at $6.00 sq ft. That price includes the labor, thinset, and grout so the total is $9.59 sq ft. I've seen their work and it looks really good, so I'm confident they'll do the same for me.
BTW, I tried to talk my wife into letting me do the job. Boy was I glad we were outside when she took off like a rocket. She said there was no way she'd live on bare concrete floors for the next year it took me to complete the job. I guess she knows me too well.
Thanks for the words on the other stuff. I remember the installers talking to me about a poured membrane they would put down on the concrete slab so that there's a seperation to keep any cracks from coming through. I'll make sure we're on the same page with that one.
I've also already started looking into the sealer. That's not included in the quote. The only thing I've noticed so far is that each company has its own song and dance. The problem is that its hard to tell which one is singing the truth and which are just humming a bunch of lies. Oh well, we'll figure it out by the time it comes to getting the job done.
Again, thanks for the help.
BTW, is it wearing well in the traffic areas, so far?
That's a good price. If you're doing a large area, it's better to have a professional do the job, because the stone gets heavy after the 1st couple of hundred square feet, especially the larger pieces. Between the 2 homes, we've probably had over 3,000 sf installed. The only thing we noticed so far is that the grout actually got a bit darker after some water spilled on it in a couple of areas, but I think it goes back to the sealer issue.
The only other thing - the house originally had very nice looking tile in the kitchen and nook that had a "stone look". We were originally only going to run the travertine in the living room and halls and it was going to butt up to the tile in the kitchen. After it was all installed, the tile looked very "cheap" next to the stone, so all the tile was then jack hammered up and the stone was installed everywhere. It looked awesome when it was all done, but was a long process since everything wasn't done at the same time. In the second house, the kitchen tile was first jack hammered up and then the stone installed everywhere, which made is a lot simplier.
Just recently seen and loved the travertine. Had it installed in the kitchen. Had it sealed. What happens...I drop the container of salad dressing (viniger and oil) yes it left a stain..i rubbed, scrubbed, drug out the sealer tried to see if that would remove it. I improved it tremendously...although it seems to be fading its still there. Now Im wondering if Ive made a huge mistake. will it ever hold up in my kitchen...I sure hope so...Im still in love with the look. So all comments and advice about caring for my floor are appreciated
I've seen 18"x18" travertine tiles here in SW PA in a couple of different stores at $2.99 per 18"x18" square.
I was VERY tempted to get it, but the $$ still add up pretty quickly. I'd like to do my foyer floor with it.
But with your quoted price of the sealer, I'm glad we didn't! We'll buy the cheaper ceramic that looks like natural stone.
blessings, Shen
NO NO NO please DO not go Ceramic, go porcelain anything. The only floor in my entire home with a crack in the tile is the less expensive ceramic and the one little crack throws off the look of a a room renovation. Not worth it.
Thinking of tiling our whole downstairs floor with travertine! We already have our whole first level, entry way, guest powder room, kitchen, lounge and dining room in a gorgeous super light huge 600x 600 travertine. Because it's all open plan, it looks amazing and so early to clean & maintain. Also looks great as we used the same tile outside on our large deck so it just flows nicely.
We're thinking of trying to source the same tile for the 3 bedrooms downstairs but what about then 2 bathrooms? When the doors are open it would look clean and neat to stick with all the same colour but did have my heart set on using a silver travertine in the bathrooms! Will it look funny going from one colour to another?
Help! Any suggestions would be welcome!
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Hows the travertine holding up
